A childminder, accused of having caused the death of a baby in her care by shaking it, was acquitted on Friday evening by the Assize Court of Hauts-de-Seine.

On November 24, 2015, the nanny called the emergency services to report the illness of a baby in her care.

Hospitalized in the process, in a coma, little Augustin died about two weeks later, at the age of 10 months.

A subdural hematoma was identified as the cause of his death.

Combined with the retinal hemorrhage also seen in Augustin, it allowed the experts to determine that the infant had died of shaken baby syndrome.

It remained to be determined when exactly the violent shaking had taken place.

“The duration of the interval” between the lesions and the appearance of the first symptoms “was appreciated less categorically by the experts during the debates”, noted the president during the reading of the motivations Friday evening in Nanterre.

"The dating of the subdural hematoma cannot be fixed with certainty on November 24, 2015 in the morning" when the nanny had custody of the child, he added.

Tears of joy and sadness

The decision was greeted by tears of joy from the accused and her children, and by the tears of sadness from the parents of little Augustin, who had instituted civil proceedings.

"I have always been convinced of his innocence and I am happy that justice has respected the law," reacted to AFP one of the nurse's lawyers, Me Noémie Saïdi-Cottier.

"I am surprised at the motivation of the Assize Court which calls into question the conclusions of the expert reports on the dating of the shaking", declared for his part the lawyer for Augustin's parents, Pierre de Combles de Nayves.

The public prosecutor had requested five years in prison against the nanny, who was tried for "violence resulting in death without intention of giving it to a minor of 15 years by a person in authority".

Miscellaneous facts

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Justice

Hauts-de-Seine: A nanny tried after the death of a 10-month-old baby

  • Justice

  • Ile-de-France

  • Babe

  • Child

  • Violence